2. Proposal: Sir John A MacDonald Ottawa River Winter Trail
Email: trails@nakkertok.ca
Project Details - Sir John A MacDonald Ottawa River Winter Trail
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3. Proposal: Sir John A MacDonald Ottawa River Winter Trail
A. Project Viability
Opportunity:
There is an opportunity to groom a multi-use winter trail along the Sir
John A MacDonald river pathway. The trail will promote active living
and provide access to the Ottawa River shoreline, welcoming a
diversity of users, whether they are walking, on skis, snowshoes or a
snow bike. The salt-free trail will respect environmental sensitivities
unique to the river shoreline.
Proposed Route:
The trail will connect the Canadian War Museum with parklands along
the Sir John A MacDonald river pathway to Westboro Beach, animating
spaces that until now have been little used in winter. Transit stations
border the trail at LeBreton Flats, Bayview/O-train and Dominion
Stations, with parking at Westboro Beach, Champlain Park and the
Canadian War Museum, providing ready access for visitors from
around the National Capital. The hub of the winter trail will be the
Kitchisippi Lookout Parking lot, where grooming equipment will be
stored.
Two tracks will be set: one for snowshoers, walkers and bikers, the
other for skiers, supporting both classic and skate style techniques.
The walking track will follow the existing pathway. Serpentine loops
will add distance to the ski track at the Selby Plains and Remic Rapids
greenspaces and at open lands adjacent to the War Museum and
Champlain Bridge, for an expected distance of 16 kilometres (see
Illustration 1), with the possibility of eventual expansion westward to
Britannia Beach.
Amenities along the trail include the Westboro Beach sliding hill, the
John Ceprano rock sculptures and heated spaces at the Champlain
park field house and the café at the War Museum (which is to be
equipped with ski racks).
Project Details - Sir John A MacDonald Ottawa River Winter Trail
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4. Proposal: Sir John A MacDonald Ottawa River Winter Trail
B. Operations
Host Organizations:
The Phase 1 (2016) host organization will be the Westboro Beach
Community Association (WBCA). This not-for-profit community
organization has a long, healthy history of partnerships with the NCC,
including common projects such as beach initiatives, historical plaques,
green space protection and pathway promotion.
For Phase 2 and 3 (2017-2018), to better support the acquisition of
grooming equipment, it is proposed to transfer responsibility for
hosting to another not-for-profit organization. The proposed partner,
XC Ski Fast, promotes the thrill, excitement and speed of cross-
country skiing by providing instruction with all required equipment to
grade 6, 7 and 8 students within the National Capital Region. In
principle, the XC Ski Fast organization is prepared to acquire
equipment for the purposes of grooming the proposed trail, which will
support its programming. Formal confirmation of its willingness to
partner in the current proposal is now being sought.
Project Coordinator:
David Adams is a Trails and Facilities Manager at Nakkertok Ski Club.
It is Canada’s largest ski club, with 1300 members, and is located in
Cantley Quebec. David is also a former elite cross country ski racer
and having raced all over Canada and Europe, has seen many ski
operations. For three years, David has been responsible for grooming
Nakkertok’s 100 kilometres of trail, and contributing to the
maintenance of over a million dollars of grooming equipment, and this
experience has given him the necessary expertise to successfully
deploy and maintain the proposed winter trail.
Infrastructure Requirements:
This proposal requires minimal infrastructure to be feasible, and will
minimally impact the sensitive shoreline environment. No snow
clearing or salting are needed. There will be a ski rack installed
outside the back doors (café) of the War Museum. In Phase 2, it is
proposed that the NCC will move a steel container into the parking lot
Project Details - Sir John A MacDonald Ottawa River Winter Trail
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5. Proposal: Sir John A MacDonald Ottawa River Winter Trail
at Kitchissippi Lookout for secure storage of the grooming equipment
during the winter season.
C. Core Operations, Schedule of
Deployment and Milestones:
Phase 1: Proof of Concept (2016)
Description: Because of the time of year, the state of the weather
and unique nature of this project, Phase 1 will be a ‘proof of concept’.
Under the direction and management of the WBCA, David will arrange
to use Nakkertok’s equipment on a cost-recovery basis to groom the
proposed route at peak times of the winter. Such grooming sessions
will be considered “events”, and will be advertised as such to invite the
public, sporting and community groups and sporting goods stores to
discover the trail. The number of events will depend on availability of
equipment and the funds available. At least two to three events are
envisioned, with the hope that one will be during Winterlude.
Additional grooming sessions will be arranged as equipment
availability, funds and weather permit.
Route: Westboro Beach to War Museum
Cost: $600 per grooming session
Sources of Funding: We propose to fund Phase 1 through
contributions from the NCC with event sponsorship from local retail
stores. The WBCA will be responsible for receiving contributions and
sponsorship funding and paying Nakkertok Ski Club to cover the cost
of grooming. To stimulate sponsorship, retail stores will be
encouraged to use events to promote their business, for example by
planning ski and snowshoe demo days to coincide with each event, as
permitted within NCC sponsorship policies. The effort for Phase 1 will
be volunteer driven.
Phase 2: Transition from an event-based to a regular grooming
service (2017)
Description: It is expected the proof of concept will attract significant
interest in the proposed trail, and that users will be expecting more.
Heavy boot traffic, changing weather and high winds along the
shoreline are all factors that can quickly destroy a winter trail. In
Project Details - Sir John A MacDonald Ottawa River Winter Trail
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6. Proposal: Sir John A MacDonald Ottawa River Winter Trail
Phase 2, the goal is to maintain the tracks on a more frequent basis,
allowing the trail to be a reliable route for active commuting, as well as
recreational use, throughout the winter. This more intensive
management will require investing in a snowmobile for grooming;
however, the program would continue to borrow Nakkertok’s grooming
attachment (see Illustration 2). This loan would be free of charge. We
propose that NCC provide a steel container for secure storage of the
grooming equipment at the Westboro Beach hub.
Route: Westboro Beach to War Museum
Budget: $20,000 plus $2500 for Operating Expenses
(fuel/oil/maintenance)
Sources of Funding: Funding for the capital investment and
operating expenses would combine contributions from the NCC,
Trillium grants, sponsorship by local retailers, individual citizens and
crowd funding. XC Ski Fast will be responsible for receiving
contributions and sponsorship funding, sourcing and maintaining the
snowmobile, and negotiating loan of the groomer from Nakkertok. The
effort for Phase 2 will be volunteer driven.
Phase 3: Fully Equipped and Professionally Managed Service
(Season of 2018)
Description: With the snowmobile purchased the previous year, the
program will continue to invest in equipment by buying its own
groomer so that a higher quality of trails can be more easily
maintained. It is also proposed to expand the trail network westward
to Britannia Park. Having established expectations for the service, in
Phase 3 the service would transition to professional management, with
a blend of paid and volunteer grooming staff, so as to maintain
engagement with the community, without overburdening volunteers.
Upon completion of this phase, the Sir John A MacDonald winter trail
will be added to the list of Ottawa’s main winter attractions, like the
Rideau Canal Skateway.
Route: Britannia Park to the Canadian War Museum via Westboro
Beach. The combination of east and west routes will total
approximately 30 kilometres of ski trail.
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7. Proposal: Sir John A MacDonald Ottawa River Winter Trail
Cost: $10,000 for grooming attachment, $5,000 in Operating
Expenses and Manager’s hourly wage of $15-$20 per hour. A core
team of volunteer groomers would be used.
Sources of Funding: Funding for the capital investment, operating
expenses (fuel/oil/maintenance) and salaries/wages would combine
contributions from the NCC, Trillium grants, sponsorship by local
retailers, individual citizens and crowd funding. XC Ski Fast will be
responsible for receiving contributions and sponsorship funding,
sourcing and maintaining the grooming attachment. The effort for
Phase 3 will be partially paid through hourly wages for management,
and partially volunteer driven.
D. Supporters:
The following interested parties were introduced to the project and are
prepared to write a letter of endorsement:
- Cross Country Canada (national governing body of Cross Country
Skiing in Canada)
- Cross Country Ontario (provincial governing body of Cross
Country Skiing in Ontario)
- National Capital Division - Cross Country (local governing body
of Cross Country Skiing)
- Nakkertok Ski Club
- Kanata Nordic Ski Club
- Jeff Leiper, Councillor, Kitchissippi Ward
- Yasir Naqvi, MPP, Ottawa Centre
- Citizens for Safe Cycling
- Stephen Quick, Director General, Canadian War Museum and VP,
Canadian Museum of History
- Karl Saidla, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Ottawa, Department
of Human Kinetics (Ph.D. Thesis: Explaining Active
Transportation Success in Cities with Winter. Helsinki and
Ottawa: A Comparative Political Analysis.)
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8. Proposal: Sir John A MacDonald Ottawa River Winter Trail
E. Risks and risk mitigation strategies
Risk Likelihood Impact Mitigation
Failure to secure
funding
Low to
moderate
High Seek funding from a variety of
sources, including the following:
- contributions from NCC
- sponsorship from local retailers
(in accordance with NCC
sponsorship policies)
- individual donors, crowdfunding
- other granting organizations
(e.g., Ontario Trillium Foundation)
Failure to secure
not-for-profit
partner for
equipment
acquisition (XC ski
fast)
Low to
moderate
High Phase 1 provides time to pursue
and establish a partnership with
another winter-sport-based
foundation.
Unfavourable
weather
Moderate to
high
Moderate
to high
To the extent possible, during
Phase 1, events will be timed to
coincide with favourable weather
events;
In Phases 2 and 3, acquisition of
equipment will improve the ability
to respond to weather changes.
Interests of certain
stakeholders do not
align with the
proposal
Liaison with stakeholder groups
including Citizens for Safe Cycling
(regarding influence on spring
thaw of cycling routes) and
community associations (parking
issues, use of Champlain park
field house) to resolve concerns.
Personal injury
(bystander or
volunteer)
Low High Groom at non-peak times; equip
snowmobile with strobe and sound
signals; training and certification
of volunteer groomers and staff;
insurance through City of Ottawa.
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9. Proposal: Sir John A MacDonald Ottawa River Winter Trail
Illustration 1: The Proposed Eastern Route. The blue line depicts the
ski trail while the walkers and snow bike route will simply follow along
the bike path.
Illustration 2: Snowmobile and groomer attachment: the equipment to
be used for grooming.
Project Details - Sir John A MacDonald Ottawa River Winter Trail
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10. Proposal: Sir John A MacDonald Ottawa River Winter Trail
Illustration 1: The Proposed Eastern Route. The blue line depicts the
ski trail while the walkers and snow bike route will simply follow along
the bike path.
Illustration 2: Snowmobile and groomer attachment: the equipment to
be used for grooming.
Project Details - Sir John A MacDonald Ottawa River Winter Trail
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